Learn when Oklahoma employers can be sued for defamation based on references.

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Are you looking for a new job? If so, you may be concerned about
what your former employer will say to companies that call to ask for a
reference. References can make the difference between getting a job offer and
receiving a rejection letter. If a former employer is giving out false or
misleading information about you, it could doom your job search.

In Oklahoma, employers who provide reference information to
prospective employers are protected from legal liability. As long as the employer acts in good faith and doesn’t go beyond
what the law allows, the employer can’t be sued for defamation. However, if a
former employer acts maliciously or otherwise crosses the legal line, and you
lose job opportunities because of it, you may have a legal claim.

References and Defamation Claims

To prove defamation, the plaintiff (the person bringing the
lawsuit) must show that someone made false and damaging statements about him or
her. In the context of employment, defamation claims nearly always focus on
statements the employer makes about the employee once the employment
relationship ends. Typically, a former employee claims that the employer made
false, negative statements about the employee’s performance to a prospective
employer who called for a reference, and the prospective employer decided not
to offer the employee a job (or to rescind a job offer) because of the poor
reference. (To learn more about
defamation claims, see Defamation Lawsuits: Do You Have a Case Against a Former Employer?)

Reference
Laws in Oklahoma

An Oklahoma employer is immune from liability (that is, the
employer may not be sued for defamation) if it provides information about an
employee’s job performance to a prospective employer, either at the employee’s
request or with the employee’s consent. State agencies may give information to
other state agencies about an employee without the employee’s consent

The employer who gives a reference is presumed to be
acting in good faith. This means that the employer has immunity from lawsuits unless
the employee can prove that:

the information provided was false,
and

the employer knew it was false, acted
maliciously, or acted with reckless disregard as to whether the information was
true.

Oklahoma Service Letter Law

Some employees wish their former
employers would keep quiet, but some employees face the opposite problem: They
want a former employer to provide information, but the employer isn't willing
to speak up. Some employers are so fearful of defamation claims that they won't
give references under any circumstances.

To remedy this situation, some states
have enacted service letter laws. These laws require employers to provide
former employees with certain basic information, in writing, about their
employment.

Oklahoma is one of the states that
has a service letter law. However, the law has limited application: Only public
service corporations and contractors who work for such corporations are
required to provide a service letter. Upon request of the employee, these
employers must provide a letter stating the nature of the employee’s service,
how long the employee worked there, and the reasons why they employee was
discharged or quit. The statute sets out requirements for the form of the
letter. Among other things, the law prohibits extraneous marks or symbols on
the letter, no doubt intended (when it was passed, a century ago) to prevent
blacklisting.

Getting a Reference

If you want a former employer to provide a detailed reference,
you might consider signing a release: an agreement giving the employer
permission to respond to prospective employers who call for a reference, and
giving up your right to sue the employer for anything said as part of that
process.

However, you should consider this only if you are absolutely
certain that the reference will be positive. It may be a good idea to give up
your legal right to sue in exchange for a reference that will help you land a
position, but you don’t want to sign away your rights only to find that you
have no recourse against a former employer who damaged your reputation and job
prospects. For more information, see Getting Good Job References. For information on your legal rights during
the hiring process, see Nolo's articles on Getting
Hired.